Public, private, religious, managed, self-operated, primary, secondary, university, trade school. Food manufacturers eyeing the massive school foodservice landscape have to first understand the animal they’re dealing with, according to the latest data...
Launching big is not the definitive way to sustainable growth
How many consumer packaged goods that launch in the US today will still be around in two years’ time? The answer is a miserable 15%, according to Nielsen data.
Nestlé has applied to patent a method it says will produce reduced-lactose skim milk-based Greek yogurt with a protein content of up to 14%, without adding protein or the use of straining technology.
Added sugars account for 14.1% of total energy intakes for Americans
While we tend to assume that fast food outlets (the bottomless soda cup) contribute a disproportionate amount of added sugar to the US diet compared with store-bought groceries, new data shows that the reverse is actually true.
The Epic Seed is now available in 700 stores across the country
The Greek yogurt aisle was already pretty crowded by the time Jesse Rudolph started pitching his wares to the market around 18 months ago. But chia - the superfood of the moment - proved to be his secret weapon.
Beyond the focus group? Next generation concept testing
A new mobile app enabling CPG companies to get instant feedback on new product concepts from target consumers while they are grocery shopping will slash the time and money spent on testing new ideas, claims consumer insights expert uSamp.
The concept of a healthy diet is one that continues to evolve—as special diets gain more attention and consumers become more attuned to ingredient lists, the role of animal vs. plant fats and the growing fervor surrounding what’s considered natural.
Canadian dairy Agropur has agreed to acquire the processing assets of Minnesota cheese and whey ingredients manufacturer Davisco Foods International - a deal that will double its US operational presence.
Vermont has serious concerns over cost of defending GMO labeling law, claim CFS/VPIRG
The Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG) and anti-GMO activist group the Center for Food Safety (CFS) have formally asked for permission to help the state of Vermont defend its new GMO labeling law in the wake of a legal challenge from food...
Organic dairy Stonyfield believes its newly developed Petite Crème sweet fresh cheese range will appeal to US consumers that find Greek yogurt "too thick and bitter."
The market price of Chinese sucralose has dropped 30-50% in 12 months
Not so long ago, Tate & Lyle had the sucralose market to itself. In recent years, however, the Chinese have emerged as serious rivals. But while demand for the zero-calorie sweetener is rising, new capacity in China has been added even more rapidly,...
The FDA’s proposed label changes would draw attention to a lot of issues worrying public health officials—from calories and added sugar to serving sizes and vitamin D. But one nutrient that won’t be mandated on labels, in spite of growing concern over...
Abbott Laboratories' CEO believes the company has “recovered about as well" as it could have in the year since the Fonterra WPC botulism scare that led it to recall infant formula in China, Vietnam, and Saudi Arabia.
CytoSport has developed an organic variation of its popular, high-protein Muscle Milk RTD to meet increasing US consumer demand for organically-certified products.
As the US Food and Drug Administration prepares to issue voluntary sodium guidelines for food manufacturers and restaurants, US consumers are demonstrating less concern about sodium intake and seeking it out less on labels than in the past, according...
Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) and its marketing arm Dairy Marketing Services (DMS) have agreed to pay a total of US$50m (€37m) to settle a class action lawsuit that alleged a conspiracy to drive down raw milk prices in the Northeast United States.
When consumers think about GMOs, they tend to contrast them with “some hypothetical alternative food that is pristine”, when in most cases, going ‘non-GMO’ just means returning to a food production system that is less efficient - and worse for the environment...
Trader Joe's 'purposefully railroaded business relationships', alleges lawsuit
Trader Joe’s move to ditch a broker and a vendor it had been working with for years and deal directly with key suppliers of ice cream and other dairy products left the pair “high & dry”, says a lawsuit accusing the retailer of “systematically eliminating...
In the latest installment of FoodNavigator-USA’s What do you do series, we talked with Kai Sacher, head of global product development at leading yogurt manufacturer Chobani, about his roots on Austrian dairy farms, the importance of timing in new product...
Legislation to ban bisphenol A (BPA) from food and beverage containers could ‘push America backward in public health’, according to the North American Metal Packaging Alliance (NAMPA).
An FDA inspection of Chobani’s yogurt production facility in Twin Falls, Idaho, conducted after it recalled some products last fall, found “minor” deficiencies in good manufacturing practices (GMPs), but nothing to warrant issuing a ‘483’ letter, the...
Dr Alejandro Mazzotta - the microbiologist heading up food safety at Chobani - says he is disappointed by the publication of a “highly irresponsible” paper in the peer-reviewed journal mBio alleging that the fungal contaminant found in some of its yogurts...
The publication of a paper alleging that the fungus in yogurts voluntarily recalled by Chobani last fall is more virulent than originally thought could prompt a new wave of civil lawsuits against the Greek yogurt maker, although product liability cases...
The growth of the Non-GMO Project verification scheme has been nothing short of explosive over the past 18 months. But does the firm serving as its technical administrator have the resources to cope, and are competing certification schemes adopting the...
At $88.3bn in 2013, the size of the US specialty food prize is already mouthwatering, and if current trends continue (sales grew 9.6% in 2012 and 8% in 2013), it will blast through the $100bn barrier in 2015. But which categories are growing most rapidly?
If the cover of TIME magazine earlier this month (headline: Eat Butter) is anything to go by, it would seem that the conversation about fat, and saturated fat in particular, is changing, at least in the media. But are policymakers sitting up and taking...
Relaxation Solutions, a subsidiary of Bebida Beverage Company (BeBevCo), has partnered with 80s comedy duo Cheech and Chong to launch a hemp-infused relaxation ice cream in the US.
If artificial sweeteners have an image problem, then General Mills’ move to replace one artificial sweetener (aspartame) with another (sucralose) in its Yoplait Light yogurts might seem like an odd move.
Starbucks-owned brand Evolution Fresh is test marketing a new range of co-branded smoothies made with cold pressed, high pressure processed juice and Dannon Greek yogurt in 200 Starbucks stores in San Jose and St Louis.
Strategic alliances have enabled Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) to overcome the “emotion” that comes with attempting to enter emerging markets such as China.
The number of Americans aged 65+ will double in the next 25 years. But manufacturers of products that could have strong appeal to this demographic (Greek yogurt, protein bars) are not doing enough to target them, says IRI.
Growing consumer interest in positive nutrition, demographic shifts, new eating patterns, recent scientific findings, and the recommendations from the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans all point to a bright future for protein-rich foods and beverages,...
Dannon is looking to drive incremental growth to the dairy category with the launch of a new indulgent dessert brand called Dannon Creamery that targets a day-part US yogurt marketers have traditionally struggled to corner: the evening.
Can anything top protein? What’s a “silver consumer” and why should we care? Would salty caramel work in a soft drink? Innova Market Insights teased a very full agenda of trendwatching presentations at next week’s Institute of Food Technologists’ (IFT)...
Greek yogurt manufacturers in the US could cut acid whey output by a collective 1m tons a year, by using this by-product to make additional dairy foods, claims Arla Foods Ingredients (AFI).
Cargill has unveiled IngreVita, a proprietary blend of high oleic canola oil, antioxidants and long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) from fish oil that it claims will take omega-3 food and beverage fortification from the niche to the mainstream.
US dairy consumption patterns “have shifted away from plain fluid milk to highly processed forms of dairy that are little more than vessels for salt, sugar, and fat”, while cash from the dairy checkoff scheme is being used to promote ‘junk foods’ such...
Nearly 3% of global food and beverage launches and 6% of US food/bev launches were marketed on a ‘high-protein’ or ‘source-of-protein’ positioning in the year ending March 31, 2014, according to data from Innova Market Insights.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has finalized a set of manufacturing guidelines designed to ensure infant formula products produced for domestic sale are “safe and support healthy growth.”
While Chobani, Dannon and Yoplait have been battling for supremacy in the US yogurt market (and at halftime at the Super Bowl), another equally ambitious player has recently emerged from the leftfield and served as a reminder that Greek isn’t the only...
Becoming a target of opportunistic lawsuits is the price you pay for being successful, says Chobani’s marketing boss, who says he is “baffled” by a complaint filed by Dov Seidman accusing the yogurt firm of infringing his trademarks with its ‘How Matters’...
Dannon, Daisy Brand and Lactalis American Group (LAG) have questioned the reliability of a US study that reported finding levels of titanium dioxide nanoparticles in their products.
Chobani is laying off a small but undisclosed number of temporary workers at plants in Twin Falls, Idaho and South Edmeston, New York as it harmonizes production between the two facilities after a labor-intensive ramp-up phase, and moves to new shift...
From drinkable grains to Non-GMO verified, Sterling-Rice Group has identified 10 natural and organic food trends that are starting to influence the mainstream grocery market. Are you up to speed?
A lawsuit filed by bestselling author and corporate ethics consultant Dov Seidman accusing Chobani of infringing his trademarks with its 'How Matters' campaign is "baseless and without merit", says the Greek yogurt maker.
The International Formula Council (IFC) has dismissed claims that the US practice of providing free hospital discharge bags containing samples of infant formula is in violation of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes.
While data showing that fluid milk consumption has continued to fall in the past 15 years probably won’t shock many readers, they may be more surprised to learn that consumption of caloric sweeteners and ice cream has also dropped substantially since...
